In Isaiah’s day, walled cities relied on watchmen, who stood on the city walls and towers, to keep them informed about conditions around them. It was common during times of war for city officials to go out in the middle of the night and ask, “Watchman, what do you see?” If things were good, the watchman would respond, “all is well,” and if things were bad, he would warn of the coming danger.

In the center of old town Lausanne, Switzerland, there is an ancient gothic cathedral, dedicated to the Lord in 1275. It is one of the last places in Europe that has preserved the night-watches tradition. Every night, from 10pm through 2am a night watchman calls out the hours from his cathedral tower, just as it has been done for centuries.

God appointed watchmen in Isaiah’s day, and He still calls for watchmen to be over His kingdom today. When God says, “Watchman, what do you see?” we are not to hold back or keep silent if the alarm needs to be sounded. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend that danger does not exist as the foundations of society are being eroded away. We are to be like the prophet Nathan who boldly walked into even the king’s chambers and confronted David on his sin with Bathsheba, saying to him, “You are the man” who has sinned (2 Sam. 12). Are we willing to be that watchman for God in our generation?